Janice Rogers Brown, nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the D.C. Circuit, was approved in the Senate Judiciary Committee
on April 21 by a 10-8 party-line vote. Senate liberals, however,
imply resumed filibusters will keep her and other nominees from
receiving a vote in the full Senate. Members of the black leadership
network Project 21 demand a halt to such delaying tactics.

"The Senate has a constitutional
duty to move forward with fair consideration of judicial appointees,"
said Project 21 member Darryn "Dutch" Martin. "If
they resume the stalling that keeps long-standing judicial vacancies
open, they don't deserve to be considered public servants."

A single mother and the daughter
of an Alabama sharecropper, Associate Justice Brown has spent
25 years in public service. She has served on the California
Supreme Court since 1996, and prior to that served on the benches
of other state courts. A quarter of the court to which Brown
is currently nominated is vacant.

In 2003, a bipartisan group
of law professors praised Brown's "commitment to individual
freedom, even when rights are asserted by unpopular litigants."
Similarly, her fellow judges describe her as "a superb judge"
who is "extremely intelligent, keenly analytical and very
hard-working" and a judge "who applies the law without
favor, without bias and with an even hand."

Senate liberals began a filibuster
of Brown's nomination in November of 2003. While only a simple
majority is needed for actual confirmation, a filibuster requires
60 votes to bring the nomination to the floor for a vote.

Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY)
implied filibusters will resume against Brown and others when
he told the Associated Press nominees such as her "deserved
to be rejected before they deserve to be rejected again."
Despite the senator's statement, Brown and other nominees were
never rejected because a vote on their nominations never took
place due to filibusters.

"Janice Rogers Brown is
the most prolific thinker since Clarence Thomas," says Project
21 member Lisa Fritsch. "Her broad profundity on the importance
of individual rights of citizens and what must be the limited
exercise of government are the very essence of our nation's founding."

Project 21 takes no position
on the confirmation of any particular judicial nominee, but believes
that it is in the best interest of the United States that judicial
vacancies be filled with appropriate speed.

Project 21, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, has been
a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992.
For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 543-4110
x11 or [email protected],
or visit Project 21's website at http://www.project21.org/P21Index.html.